BANGKOK --- Britain's BBC announced Wednesday it is ending its shortwave
transmissions from Thailand after 20 years of operation because it failed to
reach agreement with Thailand's military government on a renewal of its
operating permit.
The British Broadcasting Corp. said in a statement that
the transmitters have been off the air since Jan. 1 after the previous agreement
expired.
"Despite extensive negotiations, we have been unable to reach an
agreement to re-commence transmissions. Given the financial constraints faced by
the whole of the BBC, we have reluctantly decided to shut the site," it
said.
The decision to shut the site may cause 45 staff members to lose
their jobs, it added.
East Asia was the primary area served by the
transmitters in Nakhon Sawan in central Thailand. The BBC moved its East Asia
relay station to Thailand from Hong Kong after the handover of the British
colony to China in 1997.
Thailand's government has publicly criticized
the BBC's online Thai language service, which covers political developments more
frankly than local media.
"We regret that we have not been able to reach
an agreement with the Thai government which would allow us to continue using
this facility to bring accurate and impartial news to audiences in the region,"
the BBC said. "We are continuing to develop other ways for people to access the
BBC, including internet and mobile streaming, as well as FM radio and TV
broadcasts."
Last November, the BBC announced it would beam regular
Korean-language broadcasts to North Korea, but it was not clear whether the loss
of the Thai transmission site might affect those plans. The
U.S.-government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia already target North
Korea.
Many international broadcasters have cut back or eliminated their
shortwave services in recent times, supplanted by satellite television
transmissions and the internet.
(via
Artie Bigley, DXLD)
